Training highly employable individuals is one of the key objectives of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). However, holding a HE qualification seems not to be enough anymore to secure a place in the workforce.

This is primarily because of HEI’s lack of alignment of their degree programmes with the changing needs of the job market and subsequent failure to cater to the employers’ expectations.

The outcomes include graduates’ low employability, employers’ dissatisfaction with their skill set, and a general sense of discontentment and disappointment among graduates as well as employers.

What needs the most in HE is a consideration for updated, market-oriented, and demand-driven knowledge and skills, which are critical to the modern economy. The lack of market orientation of the HE has also sabotaged the potential of entrepreneurship, creating job opportunities as poorly trained youth have lower chances of setting-up successful businesses.

Pakistani universities have become parking places for unemployed youth

The situation is more complicated and precarious in the Pakistani HE system. A 2022 study by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics shows that 31 per cent of university graduates are unemployed however, the unemployment rate of women with a university qualification is as high as 51pc.

This means that at least one-third of the educated youth in Pakistan is unemployed. This ongoing crisis of unemployment of educated youth in Pakistan is mainly because of the curriculums of the degree programmes HEIs offer.

Most of these degree programmes focus on academic knowledge without a clear link with the job market and impart limited practical skills, which are insufficient for the job market.

In addition to the gaps in specific and field-related skills, there are shortcomings pertaining to general skills development which is appreciated in the job market. For example, effective communication and problem-solving skills are highly valued by employers, but graduates often struggle with these essential skills.

This clearly shows that HEIs in Pakistan have failed to prepare their graduates to live up to the expectations of employers. Pakistani HEIs’ lack of relevance and alignment with the job market has not only failed Pakistani youth to realise their dreams but has also resulted in a very low premium on HE for graduates.

Despite the low premium on HE and poor employability, the enrolment in higher education programmes is increasing day by day as well as the new programmes which are being launched by HEIs.

This is because HE in Pakistani society is a mark of social status and distinction, and the aspiring middle class does not want to be left behind. Hence, despite the atmosphere of uncertainty and poor prospects, parents try to finance the HE of their children.

As a result, Pakistani universities have become parking places for unemployed youth. Furthermore, the average age of students in HE programmes is very high because young people choose to further their education without thinking about their suitability for these programmes and expected returns.

However, since HE requires significant investment, which has an opportunity cost, it is very important for HEIs to ensure better career prospects for those who invest in it. It is also important to understand that Pakistani HEIs’ output indicators do not include graduate employability.

Furthermore, developing students’ competencies for the job market is not reflected in the faculty’s and university’s performance matrices either. This means faculty of HEIs have no incentives or motivation to prepare their students for the job market.

Besides, the practice of rote learning in the Pakistani education system, which has an incentive in terms of good grades, also discourages real learning and developing competencies. Similarly, teachers teach a set curriculum and aim to finish the syllabus, which results in the absence of essential skill development.

Due to this misplaced focus, a vast majority of students in HEIs struggle with effective communication, creativity, and problem-solving, the skills that employers highly value.

Effective and robust HE is undoubtedly an important driver of a nation’s social and economic progress. Thus, Pakistani HEIs must prioritise enablement as this will not only empower graduates to transition to the professional world but will also enable them to become useful members of society.

HE, with these attributes, would help resolve complex problems in society, generate more opportunities, and create a social impact. This means the HE sector must be a research-based modern skill and knowledge hub that could supply trained manpower with market-oriented and demand-driven knowledge and skills.

This would require revamping and upgrading the HE, including the curricula of all degree programmes to meet the requirements of the job market.

It is needless to say that the Pakistani job market has the potential to absorb more HE graduates if their skill development is appropriate and aligned with the requirements of the job market. Hence, HEIs must shift their focus to the development of competencies of their students.

Competencies such as critical thinking, communication and presentation skills, and attainment of some practical knowledge could help young people secure a job and HEIs to enhance the employability of their graduates.

The modern job market demands dynamic employees with a knack for working in physical as well as virtual environments and are able to excel in the increased complexity of economic systems.

Likewise, there is a growing non-conventional job market of consulting, freelancing, and gig work. This offers instant start, greater work flexibility, autonomy, exposure, self-learning, and rapid growth in income.

However, HEIs have hardly taken any concrete steps to tap this opportunity, and graduates are not very zealous about this either. On the contrary, HEIs, as well as graduates, seem to be clueless about the skills required for this new and emerging job market.

This could be because this is not a substitute for a pakki nokri, and neither is there a promise for one in this new job market. But, hey, this is the next-gen — the old time is slowly going down in flames. So let us brace ourselves for this brave new world and take a fresh start.

The writer is an academic with a PhD in Economics and works as the Director Research Programmes for Social Protection Resource Centre (SPRC) Islamabad

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, April 25th, 2023